With the increase in the popularity of the “world wide web”(www), the use of so-called “web browsers” or “browsers” has become more common. For example, a web browser available from Netscape, Inc., known as Netscape Navigator, can provide a convenient way to operate applications and view data via the web.
Some of the applications available via the web can provide a high level of interaction with the user, as these applications may be written in native languages, such as C or Java. In particular, applications written in these types of native languages can be specifically written to require intensive user interaction. As the level of interaction between the user and the application increases, so can the communication between the web browser and the application. This increase in communication can cause enough requests and associated responses that the available network bandwidth may be affected.
In addition to the problems outlined above regarding generic applications, a new type of environment, commonly referred to as the “emerging web desktop,” may cause even greater problems similar to those discussed above. In particular, the emerging web desktop can provide users with access to what is commonly referred to as a portal. The portal can allow a user to access multiple applications through a single screen (displayed by the web browser). For example, some portals allow users to access applications that can show disparate data, such as banking information, weather, sports, stock information, or the like, to a user on a single screen. Much of the processing needed to manage the portal (such as administration, customization, and switching) can place even greater demands on the bandwidth available between the browser and the application. In particular, since most of the processing is performed at the applications server, a lot of information is communicated between the server and the browser, which may consume a lot of bandwidth.
Some of the problems arising due to increasing use of portals may be addressed by, for example, separating a file into its dynamic data components, i.e., the components of the data that change, and its static components, i.e., the components of data that do not change, before transmitting the data from the server to the client. The dynamic and static data may be stored separately on the client. The static data may be, for example, fields such as name, address, telephone number and the like, which would remain the same. The dynamic data, on the other hand, may be, for example, the information in these fields such as the user's name, address and telephone number, which would change based on the user. Methods, systems and computer program products that implement such a separation are discussed in detail in United States Patent Publication Nos. US 2003/0177175 A1, US 2002/0069255 A1, US 2003/055915 A1, US 2002/0188631 A1, US 2001/0033284 A1 and US 2003/0163517 A1, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entirety. However, separate storage of static and dynamic data does not address some of the issues discussed above that can arise when using a web browser to access applications and/or data via the web.